Renewed Faith (CSA Case Files 3 / Military Romance) (24 page)

“S
o nothing on Bee?”

Kevin was sitting in the police station, looking over the latest reports that Taggart had put together. The tails that had been following specific targets had yielded nothing, and from what Taggart said were just calling unwanted attention from his superiors about the manpower he was using. He had to account for the money that was currently producing zero leads.

“I can’t prove he was in the warehouse. Bee hasn’t made a move against Rachel, but then again, I’m sure he’s aware we’re keeping our eye on her.” Taggart brushed the crumbs of his stale donut off of his blue and white tie. “As for Rachel and Hash, they see each other regularly but their actions are habitual. As for the man who was murdered, we ain’t got shit.”

“What about surveillance cameras that are in that area? Any luck with those?”

“The gas station gave us the tapes. It covers the counter, but not the hallway where the phone is located.” Taggart finished off his late day snack and then balled his napkin before trying for a three-pointer in the garbage can located six feet away. He missed. “There was a woman paying at the counter and she was verified leaving. Two men walked in after our victim did, only to grab some cigarettes and a couple of lottery tickets. They left. No one was seen and the clerk on duty didn’t even realize there was an issue until a patrol car showed up.”

“So that tells us something,” Kevin surmised, leaning back in his chair.

“It tells us shit.” Taggart reached over and grabbed the files that Kevin had put down. “We’re still at square one.”

“This is the problem with you detectives,” Kevin said, ribbing the man good-naturedly. “Case after case starts to look alike, because they are alike. You can’t separate the scenes and they all get lumped together. How many investigations do you have running?”

Taggart ran a hand over his face and then rubbed his chin. He didn’t answer. He was overworked, underpaid, and still had a personal life to live. Add on murders, rapes, domestic violence, and every other damn crime his department was responsible for and it was lucky anything got solved. Kevin didn’t envy him in any way. No wonder the parents of the first rape victim hired an outside agency.

“Look, I can have some of my contacts keep an eye on Bee if you need to pull back on the manpower. In exchange, can I have access to those tapes?” Kevin’s gut instinct was telling him something was there and that they just needed to think outside the box. He and his team had the capability and time to see this through. “All of them?”

“Sure. You know Crest has gotten his hooks into the mayor. Your agency practically has carte blanche over our files.” Taggart’s words didn’t contain hard feelings in any way, for which Kevin was glad. He always tried to maintain good relationships, but there were some officers on the force that played the power game. “I’ll have them sent over.”

Kevin would look at them first before handing them over to Taryn. Squid had a way with electronics and software that would pinpoint every coming and going along with who had the advantage to slip in the back entrance. This could be the lead they were hoping for.

“How’s Emily? The guys went in for a collection of flowers. They should have been delivered today.”

“Elle and I are heading over to the hospital in a couple of hours.” Kevin’s phone vibrated and he stretched out his body, reaching into the front pocket of his jeans. “I spoke with Jax this morning though and all seems to be returning to normal. They even moved the baby in so Emily could nurse.”

Kevin’s gut tightened as he saw a text from Elle had come through on his display.
Have something to take care of. Go to hospital without me. I’ll have a taxi drop me at your place later tonight.
What the hell? Didn’t they cover this already? She didn’t get to back out now. He tamped down his anger as he thought of a reply.

“Everything okay?”

Kevin stood and grabbed his jacket. “It will be. Get me those tapes and I’ll touch base in a few days.”

With that, Kevin stalked out of the station. Ignoring the cold, he walked across the street to his truck ignoring the looks he received from bystanders in regards to his holstered weapon. Getting in, he threw his coat onto the passenger side seat and started the engine. Shooting a quick text off to Elle, he then tossed his phone in the direction of his jacket. He was done being patient.

*   *   *   *

Elle’s emotions were torn in two and she wasn’t sure how to handle the upcoming confrontation. She paced her apartment, not even feeling the chill in the air anymore. She’d worked up a sweat on thinking of how she was going to confront Bee. She needed to be armed in case things went south, but he needed to know that it was unacceptable for him to be having her followed. God, it had been almost a year. She would have thought he’d given up any hopes that she’d fail in living a normal life. She’d had things mostly worked out in her head until Kevin had texted her back. That certainly hadn’t gone as planned.

Spanking bench. Thirty minutes.

Was he fucking serious? Not a chance. It wasn’t as if Elle had said she was cancelling their plans or that she was backing out of this newfound relationship. Honestly, Kevin was part of the reason she needed to confront Bee. She’d finally taken a chance on someone and she wasn’t about to have that taken away by her past mistakes. Granted, going back over the text she’d sent, it could definitely be misconstrued. But she didn’t have time to worry about that. Plus, she wasn’t too sure about using the club equipment during closing time. It just seemed wrong, regardless of how her body responded to the words. She quickly left her apartment and took the stairs down to the club. She looked over at the play area as she crossed the floor to exit through the front entrance.

Once again, Elle’s emotions were torn. She’d always wanted to know what that would feel like. As she exited the front door into the club’s entryway, she turned around to make sure the door locked shut by watching the button on the access card device turn red. No doubt Kevin would use the garage and she wasn’t about to run into him right now. This was something that she had to take care of on her own. She would deal with him and his hurt feelings later.

Upon leaving the building, Elle bundled up and dipped her head to keep the cold wind at bay. It took at least twenty minutes to reach her destination, but by that time she had everything mapped out in her head as to how she wanted this conversation to go. She needed to be the one to do this, not Kevin or anyone else. Bee wouldn’t get the upper hand and once she’d stood her ground, he’d slink back into his sleazy hole and leave her the hell alone.

Taking a deep breath, Elle knocked on the door knowing full well it would be packed full of people. Men and women that she’d worked with and hadn’t seen in a very long time. Bee always called a meeting to get a head start on the night’s coup that might be raked in and she doubted that he would change his habits. It was hard to believe, but even in the dead cold of winter, people still paid to get fucked.

A couple of weeks ago she never would have done something like this. A warm feeling spread through her chest. She was standing up for herself and she was damn proud of how far she’d come. A little bit of guilt ate at her at the thought of Kevin back at her apartment, wondering where she was, but she pushed it aside when the door swung open.

“My pretty little Elle,” Bee announced with a wide smile, although she did notice that he looked behind her. Was he still worried about Kevin? He should be more worried about her. “I knew you’d come back.”

“I haven’t come back to work for you, Bee.” Elle kept her hands folded inside her coat pockets. “I found out through the grapevine that Hash has been keeping tabs on me. Let’s be clear on something. I don’t work for you anymore. I will never work for you. If I so much as see anyone that I conducted business with in my vicinity, I will call the cops and have you and whatever flunky you hired thrown in jail for harassment. Is that clear?”

Elle had spoken loud enough that the people within the run-down apartment no doubt heard every word. Voices became hushed, although it was evident from the murmurs inside that they were all questioning each other, trying to figure out what was going on. She knew it was a probability that he would make everyone leave, as Bee had a major anger management issue, so when his eyes grew dark and he stepped out into the outside hallway she wasn’t surprised. Whatever he was about to say, he didn’t want his minions to witness.

“You listen here, bitch,” Bee muttered, not leaving more than an inch between them. She refused to be intimidated by him and stood her ground. Bee always took advantage if he thought he saw weakness. She’d learned that long ago. “If you wanted out, you should have left town. I’ve given you time to see that you don’t fit in with those people. More then enough time.”

“And what, Bee? You thought I’d come running back?” Elle tilted her head up, never once wavering her stare. When Bee’s lip upper lip curled into that evil grin she knew so well, her grip tightened on the knife that she had hidden in her coat. “It’s not going to happen.”

“I’ll tell you what’s not going to happen,” Bee exclaimed, spit practically coming out of his mouth. “You’re not taking any more of my girls. I gave an order to them that there will be hell to pay if word gets to me that you’re tryin’ to change their mind, you hear me?”

“Is that why Hash is following me?” Now that made more sense than what Rachel had told Elle. Bee didn’t like that she was assisting some of the girls out of the life. Either way, it was going to stop and she knew just what to say that would halt him in his tracks. It was her ace, the one that gave her the courage to do this, and it was time to play it. “I knew you weren’t very smart. What do you think is going to happen if I turn the surveillance tapes of the club over to the police? You know that Kevin and his friends take security seriously and there are numerous surveillance feeds surrounding the building. One word from me and Hash is pulled in for questioning. We all know that Hash will roll on you to save his own skin.”

Elle had no idea if there was such equipment installed around the building, but it was better to bluff and not blink than for Bee to think he had the upper hand. She also wasn’t so sure that Hash would rat someone else out, but it got the reaction she wanted. The way Bee jerked back made her aware of his uncertainty. Bingo. Now she just had to follow it through.

“I saw Hash this morning and there is no doubt he was in an area of that building when he shouldn’t have been. I’m thinking the police will find that very interesting. Don’t you?”

“Hash was just doin’ me a favor and keepin’ an eye on you, that’s all. There was no harassment.” The door behind Bee tried to open, but he spun around and started spouting profanities before slamming it shut. He faced her once more, a deceptive smile now in place. “I jus’ wanted to make sure you were safe, considering the murders and all. That’s what old friends do, right?”

A chill ran up Elle’s spin as she tried to decipher his meaning and his twist of the truth. She came up empty. Was he threatening her? Had she been right all along and he was the one that’s been murdering those girls? Or did that fabricated tale just appear in the man’s demented mind to throw the police off what he was really doing, which was threatening her away from his girls? Either way, she needed to drive her point home.

“This old friend can take care of herself.” Elle took a step closer to him to stress her point. “I will not hesitate to turn those tapes over to the police if I so much as see one person who has a connection to you. You stay on your side of the line and I’ll stay on mine. Are we clear?”

Bee didn’t reply right away, just staring at her in a way that let her know he was calculating on how far he could push her. Elle tamped down her fear and anger that had taken hold the minute Rachel had disclosed what was happening. She made sure not to blink and give him any opening that would lead way to further threats.

“I’ll stay on my edge of the street, pretty little Elle, and keep to myself. But we’ll see how long it is before you’re by my side and bringing me in the cash. The rest of the girls will follow your sweet little ass as well. It’ll all come full circle.”

“Is there something I should be aware of?” Kevin asked, the rich tenor of his voice that usually felt like molasses being poured over Elle’s body having been overtaken by a rigid quality she’d never borne witness to. She would have spun to face him but his hands and body kept her where she was. “I’m relatively sure we had ground rules in place, Bee. From what I just heard, I’m thinking you didn’t understand me correctly the first time.”

Elle couldn’t tell who was more shocked, her or Bee. Kevin, the mild-mannered, kind, generous, and thoughtful man, had turned into someone she didn’t recognize. Of course, that was the man she knew. Bee probably recognized this one rather well. The only reason she was finally able to step to the side was because Kevin allowed it. When she saw his face, his features seemed to be made of stone and the gray of his eyes had darkened to the point that she would have called them black. How had Kevin known she would be here?

“Kevin, I can handle—”

“Go wait in my truck.”

The lack of emotion within Kevin stunned Elle for a moment and it took her a few seconds before she could respond. This wasn’t a fairy tale and he wasn’t a prince riding in on his white horse. This was reality, her reality, and one that she was responsible for.

“No, I won’t,” Elle argued.

“Then I guess you’ll stay to hear this,” Kevin growled, not even bothering to look her way. He took a menacing step toward Bee, who’d backed into the closed apartment door. “I told you last year that Elle was off limits. You don’t speak to her, you don’t go near her, and you sure as hell don’t get to keep tabs on her. You think you’re the only one who has access to the information I need on the streets? You’re one in a fucking million. Money is a beautiful thing, fucker.”

“She came into my territory,” Bee protested, raising his hands in mock surrender. “She—”

“Our business relationship is terminated.” Kevin paused as if to ensure that Bee was clear on what was being said. “I suggest you tread lightly from here on out or this
will
become personal. If that happens, I will make it my mission that you spend some time in hell. You don’t want that. It can fundamentally change a man forever.”